A Little Humor

IV. Postmodern Theorists and Research

Jean-Francois Lyotard

Lyotard argued against the grand narratives where reason and justice are defined and practiced. He advocated for a combination of micro narratives, based on his theory that each person lives within several micro narratives. Each of these micro narratives has its own notion of justice based on the rules and beliefs found in them. Therefore justice cannot be applied universally; instead a multiplicity of justices exists and should be honored and respected.

Lyotard also believed in developing a more tangible justice. In order to accomplish this, temporary contracts should be implemented instead of relying on precedence and old contracts. Consensus should only be strived for in the micro narratives. Justice needs to be continuously reexamined and boundaries must always be questioned, instead of relying on grounding justice with rationale that inhibits justice from progressing. Lastly, Lyotard believed in the importance of listening to others and celebrating diversity.

- “Let us wage war on totality. . . . [E]very one of us belongs to several minorities, and what is important, none of these prevail. It is only then that we can say that the society is just”- Jean-Francois Lyotard (1988)

Jacques Derrida

Much of Derrida’s work focused on the concept that any foundations created by reasoning, logic, or rational can be deconstructed to show that those groundings are illusory. In other words, no truth is preordained, universal, natural, or given to us by a higher power. Each person is responsible for his or her ethical and moral decisions. For example, Derrida criticizes the Declaration of Independence for being a fictional creation based on illusion.

- “Justice is an experience of the impossible” - Jacques Derrida (1989)

Richard Rorty

A pragmatic, Rorty believed that principles of justice vary cross-culturally. Rorty focused on every day behavior, activities, and struggles to seek understanding from the ground up. His vision of a just political economy was governmentally controlled capitalism plus a welfare state. Within the justice system, he criticized justices for deciding cases based on bad faith and selfish reasoning. But he also acknowledges what he terms "leaps in the dark", where justices decided cases on good faith and made truly just changes.

- “We must start from where we are” – Richard Rorty (1989)

Gilles Deleuze

Deleuze believed rights don’t inherently exist, and humans must create rights through laws. These rights created within institutions and social structures must maximize critical freedoms. In order to accomplish this, we must “deterritorize” and challenge the fixed structures that exist. His notion of justices is centered on maximizing opportunities for others, exploring alternate experiences and understandings, and to engage in transformations.

Drucilla Cornell

A postmodern feminist, she challenged male centered standards of justice. Like most postmodern feminists, she advocates for equivalent evaluation where women are included in the moral community of persons and are treated equitably whenever sexual difference needs to be taken into account.

Postmodern Marxists and Neo-Marixists

Argues that traditional Marxists principles need to be revised given the increase of globalization. Postmodern Marxists and Neo-Marxists are largely concerned with the inequalities in developing countries. In a postmodern Marxist framework, the notion of a mode of information is highlighted instead of the mode of production. This places a large emphasis on the importance that information can play in uniting countries and allowing them to better communicate and organize. Immaterial labor is also key to produce immaterial products such as information, ideas, images and relationships.

V. Modernism compared to Postmodernism

To compare Modern thought to Postmodern thought, we created a chart to clearly demonstrate how they relate.

II. Organizations, Agencies, Coalitions, Groups, and Institutions

One key issue of postmodern justice is the silencing of the marginalized or less powerful members of the collective society or culture. The work of postmodern justice agents is to expose the “play of power that silences and perpetuates marginalization in the collective” (Johnson, 2008, p. 310). The following organizations, agencies, and coalitions work to ensure the voices of the marginalized are heard. Many work to destabilize unequal distributions of power maintained by law, language, ignorance, or mindset.

• ACLU http://www.aclu.org/
  “The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.”
• Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing (LELO) http://www.lelo.org/
  “As an organization led by ordinary workers, we develop the leadership of those most marginalized in our society: people of color, working class women, recent immigrants and LGBTQ (lesbian/ gay/bisexual/ transgender/ queer) workers. Our social change strategy is local organizing, with emphasis on political education and solidarity networks with workers across all borders.”
• American Friends Service Committee http://afsc.org/office/seattle-wa
  “Over the years AFSC Seattle has advocated for Native American treaty rights, mobilized to end war, organized for education reform and desegregation, promoted a just peace in the Middle East, challenged homophobia, campaigned to end apartheid, and supported workers of color to integrate the construction industry among many other projects.”
• Gray Panthers http://www.graypanthers.org/
  “Gray Panthers are age and youth in action. We are an intergenerational, multi-issue organization working to create a society that puts the needs of people over profit, responsibility over power, and democracy over institutions. We honor the value and contribution of every person, and foster the concept of aging as growth during the entire life of each individual in terms of personal development, social involvement, and self-fulfillment. We challenge ageism directed against any group.”
• Equal Rights Washington http://www.equalrightswashington.org/
  “Equal Rights Washington (ERW) works to ensure and promote dignity, safety, and equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Washingtonians.
• Arab American Community Coalition http://www.theaacc.org/
  “The AACC seeks to: (a) actively reach out to institutions in the Greater Puget Sound area to build partnerships, (b) represent the Arab American community in the State of Washington when meeting with public officials and other personnel in positions of authority, (c) provide speakers and resources that will highlight the Arab and Arab American culture in the Greater Puget Sound area, and (d) provide an avenue for members of the Arab American community to communicate their concerns about their personal safety, report attacks and harassment, and to obtain information about their options for dealing with such incidents.”
• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project http://www.nwirp.org/
  “NWIRP provides comprehensive immigration legal services and community education to advance the human rights and well-being of low-income immigrants and refugees.”

For postmodernists, another justice issue deals with problem solving. When resolving conflicts, postmodernists do not believe that one of the individuals/groups involved in the conflict should assume the responsibility of solving it nor should an outside expert resolve the problem. Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2010) suggest that the “problem-solving process should respect alternative perspective and take an eclectic approach, synthesizing ideas of different groups and individuals” (p. 415). Agencies, organizations, and programs that provide mediation services can help resolve conflict in a just way. It is important that these mediators assist with communication and ensure that the voices of all involved are heard but do not judge or decide outcomes (Dinnewind, 2004).
Mediation Services:

• Peace Council 206-328-5908
  Randolf Carter Family and Learning Center
• Bellevue Neighborhood Mediation Program 425-452-4091 www.cityofbellevue.org/page.asp?view=2535
• Dynamic Facilitation
  http://www.co-intelligence.org/P-dynamicfacilitation.html

In a school setting, it is important for students to know that there are “multiple ways of framing problems and many ways of developing solutions” (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2010, p. 415). Class Meetings, as designed by Donna Styles or the Positive Discipline program, create a setting through which students can share problems, hear one another’s perspectives and opinions, and then creatively develop possible solutions.

Postmodern justice is active justice; it is duty to the other. According to theorist Derrida (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007), justice is “a duty we have to the other without repayment; it is a duty to recognize the other” (p. 129). Organizations that promote active justice and giving of finances and services without expecting return include:

• Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation http://www.gatesfoundation.org
  “Our belief that every life has equal value is at the core of our work at the foundation. We follow 15 guiding principles, which help define our approach to our philanthropic work, and employ an outstanding leadership team to direct our strategies and grantmaking.”
• The Giving Pledge http://givingpledge.org/
  “The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.”
• Jubilee http://www.jubileeusa.org/
  “Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 religious denominations and faith communities, human rights, environmental, labor, and community groups working for the definitive cancellation of crushing debts to fight poverty and injustice in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Jubilee calls for a definitive cancellation of international debts and the restoration of right relationships between nations.”

VII. What does Postmodern Justice Sound Like?

Postmodern justice is multifaceted. It focuses on power and its control over knowledge-claims, the individual and his/her unique interpretation of reality, and deconstruction of practices and structures that maintain marginalization.

Postmodern justice, according to Foucault (1977), is concerned with power and competing claims of knowledge, knowledge that is based on different interpretations of life experiences. Those in power have the privilege of deciding what is reality, what is knowledge, and what is history. They impose those interpretations on the less powerful. This is currently a justice issue in Texas. The state’s Board of Education has approved new social studies curriculum guidelines that incorporate socially conservative ideas into American history and exclude many historical contributions of and issues faced by marginalized groups. Those in power say the new guidelines restore true history without a liberal bias, while those of the non-dominant culture say Texas is rewriting and reshaping history.
NPR: Texas Textbook Tussle Could Have National Impact
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124737756


Another key aspect of postmodernism is the subjectivity of reality; each individual experiences and interprets the world differently and uniquely. According to Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2010), individuals have “diverse perspectives, beliefs, values, interests, and needs” (p. 414). The work of postmodern justice is to ensure that differences among and between individuals are accepted and valued.

In the TED talk, The Danger of the Single Story, writer Chimamanda Adichie warns against forming stereotyped misunderstandings of entire cultures or groups based on a “single story.”



The song “Different People,” by the band No Doubt, describes the joy found in life because of different people. The lyrics include: But the most amazing thing that I’ve seen in my time are all the different people and all their different minds minds minds and different ways. It would take a lifetime to explain. Not one’s the same.



One other component of postmodern justice work is deconstruction: to de-center practices that perpetuate privilege and destabilize power structures that silence the less powerful (Johnson, 2008). Rage Against the Machine is a band that strives to do just that – give a voice to the powerless and expose unequal power distributions. Many of Rage Against the Machine’s songs speak of protest, illuminate power injustices, highlight causes where the marginalized voices have been silenced – though many also contain profanity and, as such, have not been included here. One of the few songs that does not include profanity, “Renegades of Funk,” speaks to the deconstructive aspects of postmodern justice by paying homage to the “renegades” who have been a voice for the marginalized and also encouraging the listener to join as a renegade. Lyrics: We're the renegades; we're the people with our own philosophies. We change the course of history, everyday people like you and me. It also represents postmodernism’s idea of the changing perception of knowledge and truth; it changes over time and depends on context. Lyrics: Since the Prehistoric ages and the days of ancient Greece, right down through the Middle Ages, planet earth kept going through changes. And then no renaissance came, and times continued to change. Nothing stayed the same, but there were always renegades.

III. Postmodern Justice is ACTIVE Justice!

A critical aspect of postmodern justice is the idea of active participation in working for justice. This active participation should resist the “norms” decided by mainstream culture, tradition, and philosophy, and it should be innovative (avoiding fixed ideas of methods that may have worked in the past). Postmodern justice in action would never accept limitation or boundaries which support hierarchies of power, and postmodern justice tries to push societies and groups to “think outside the box” by working to change accepted conventions, beliefs, and assumptions.

The following video is an outstanding example of Postmodern justice in action, because it is primarily filled with thought-provoking images and statements, which consistently beg the question of how we can solve the problems of the world and create justice based on individual respect, equality, and equity. Postmodernism does not propose that it has all the answers to the world’s problems, and instead it embraces complexity and difficult questions, and seeks to enact change while respecting the numerous perspectives, minority groups, and cultures encompassed in every individual. The video below asks us to back up, look at the broader picture of the world, and take into account every individual. It also calls into question the power of capitalism, a system which creates limited choice and freedoms in the world, and thus decreases our human experience according to some postmodern theorists.



Although capitalism and consumerism can lead to many of the problems that postmodernists are trying to solve, there remain many excellent examples of postmodern justice in action where monetary systems and consumerism are a part of the solution. One group, Carrotmob, was inspired to organize consumer spending power as a way of improving their community and working towards environmental justice in an active, innovative, (and therefore postmodern) way.

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Another great example of nonlinear and postmodern thinking can be seen in “Pay It Forward” projects, where participants (often students) are challenged to take one good deed, turn it into three others, and so on.



In 2008, Oprah’s audience was surprised with a gift of $1,000 each, and they were required to spend the money within one week from the show in order to create the greatest good. Several of these stories are shared on Oprah’s web site: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Paying-It-Forward

Postmodernism in action doesn't always have perfect clarity, but creativity, individual perspectives, challenging norms, and questioning the status quo are cornerstones of seeing this philosophy of justice in action. The effects of it can be widespread and large scale, or small and close-to-home. The benefits of approaching justice in a postmodern manner can provide innovative answers to the world's big questions.

VI. Postmodern Justice Looks Like...An Inkblot

The Rorschach Test, more commonly known and referred to as the "Inkblot Test," was developed by a Swiss psychologist named Hermann Rorschach in the 1930's. The Rorschach Test (pronounced Ror-shock) has been popularized in movies and television as being an interpretive tool for psychologists to use with their patients. Implementation of the Rorschach Test involves showing a set of ten inkblot prints to a patient, recording that patient's perceptions of the visual image shown there, and then to analyze the patient's interpretations using psychological knowledge and theory. Some psychologists believe the Rorschach Test might is helpful in examining a patient's personality traits, emotional functioning, and thought processes.

Although the test's scientific validity and evaluative usefulness has been called into question, and is no longer widely used in psychological evaluations, the idea, history and theory behind the test provides an excellent visual illustration of Postmodern philosophy, art, and justice.
To demonstrate the usefulness of the test in illustrating postmodernism, you can take the following test. Take a short time to decide what image you see in each of the cards below, and record your responses in sentence form. After you have completed the test, compare and contrast your responses to someone else's recorded perceptions of these same ten inkblots. You will most likely discover that, although there may be some common themes in interpreting the imagery in the inkblots, each individual will incorporate a unique perspective, history, culture, beliefs, values, interests, and needs into their interpretation of each inkblot. Postmodernism suggests that each of us is formed by our context, and therefore our perspectives and interpretations of meaning and life will differ greatly. Additionally, Postmodernism requires the acceptance and acknowledgement of subjectivity and contradiction, both of which play a key role in the Rorschach Test.

*Spoiler Alert! Several of the most common interpretations of each inkblot are listed at the end of this post.*

Rorschach Inkblot #1:

Rorschach Inkblot #2:

Rorschach Inkblot #3:

Rorschach Inkblot #4:

Rorschach Inkblot #5:

Rorschach Inkblot #6:

Rorschach Inkblot #7:

Rorschach Inkblot #8:

Rorschach Inkblot #9:

Rorschach Inkblot #10:

Rorschach Inkblot #1: Often described as looking like a mask or the face of a fox or a wolf.

Rorschach Inkblot#2: Often described as people dancing, touching hands, or as an organ.

Rorschach Inkblot#3: Frequently described as two people facing one another, a butterfly, or a moth. Sometimes blood is seen.

Rorschach Inkblot #4: Often described as boots, shoes, or viewing a person from below.

Rorschach Inkblot #5: Often described as a bat or bird-like figure.

Rorschach Inkblot #6: Sometimes described as a person with arms outstretched.

Rorschach Inkblot #7: Sometimes described as bunny ears or similar.

Rorschach Inkblot #8: Some of the items often seen in this inkblot are a mask, animals climbing the sides, female sex organs, a moth, or a butterfly.

Rorschach Inkblot #9: Sometimes described as female sex organs, other body parts, or frequently a patient might see “nothing at all” and make no meaning from this inkblot.

Rorschach Inkblot #10: Often described as animals or a colorful place.

I. What is Postmodern Justice?

Postmodernism Defined

Postmodern thought challenges many of the core assumptions and ideologies of modernist thought developed during the Enlightenment period. It questions the notion of the individual, linear logic, and stable foundations. The cornerstone of postmodernism is that it rejects the idea of a universal truth and the quest for certainty.

According to Social Justice: Theories, Issues, and Movements (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007), postmodernists argue that there is no absolute truth or one single collective universe; rather there exists a multitude of diverse people, each with their nuanced ways of being and becoming. The thinking behind this is that reality is subjective, and that one's interpretation of an experience is unique/different from another’s. Therefore attempts at unification through finding conceptual truth or absolute truth, and using the rational of a few to solve society’s problems, is rejected.

Finally, postmodernists rely on the concept of active justice. Traditionally modernists have relied on the concept of passive justice where people are not seen as having any duties to care for others outside of civil justice issues. Active justice argues that people do have a responsibility, and a duty, to help and provide care for others.

How Postmodernism is Applied

Postmodernism is applied by putting in action several of the principles presented by Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2010). Based on these principles, a postmodernist will...

...resist certainty and resolution.
...reject fixed notions of reality, knowledge, or method.
...accept complexity and lack of clarity.
...acknowledge subjectivity, irony, contradiction, and differing perspectives.
...irreverance for traditions of morality and philosophy.
...deliberately try to change assumptions and accepted norms.
...refuse to accept limiting boundaries.
...attempt to deconstruct limiting infrastructures as they exist.
...disrupt definitions of things as "either/or."